#Cryptocurrency vendor sentenced to 121 months#

The U.S. Department of Justice recently sentenced Indian national and international virtual currency trader Anurag Pramod Murarka to 121 months in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. Murarka recruited clients through advertisements on the dark web, facilitating the illegal transfer of funds through cryptocurrencies and laundering over $20 million for criminals involved in hacking and drug trafficking. Murarka's money laundering operation ran from April 2021 to September 29, 2023. He advertised his money laundering services on dark web marketplaces, with clients contacting him through encrypted messages to negotiate exchange rates. Once an exchange rate was agreed upon, Murarka instructed clients to send cryptocurrencies to designated addresses. He then used a complex hawala system to deliver cash to employees in the U.S. Murarka's network of employees spanned across the U.S. and overseas, collecting cash from his hawala contacts, packaging it in various ways, and mailing it to clients. Murarka charged fees for his services, using a portion of them to bribe employees and co-conspirators. He was aware that many of his clients were involved in criminal activities, including computer hacking and drug trafficking. Therefore, his operation facilitated criminal activities by assisting in concealing the source of illegal proceeds.